Your favorite hockey team is on a win streak, and your favorite player is MVP. They were on the wrong end of a power play, but your favorite player scored anyway. You have to get his jersey after the game, of course, but you’re running out of places to put your hockey stuff. These hockey man cave ideas will help you build a space for your memorabilia, and give you a place to practice a little hockey.
1) Synthetic Ice
Your man cave is probably in your house or indoors. If not, you’ll probably get cold come winter. An indoor man cave doesn’t mean you can’t play hockey in your man cave, though. Unlike a real hockey rink, you’re probably not set up to freeze your floor. Instead, use this synthetic ice. You can use it as your regular floor, design the whole man cave as a hockey rink, or set up an area of the man cave to play on. The synthetic ice feels like real ice, and you can play hockey on it.
2) Goal Light
Your team just scored. You couldn’t see the puck go in from this angle, but you could practically feel that goal buzzer when it went off. The chant goes up for your team. While you would probably rather be at a game, feeling the cold drift off the ice and participating in that chant, you’ll have to watch some games from home. When you do, use this goal light. It’s programmed with all the NHL team sounds. When the team makes a goal, set it off to hear the buzzer, just like you do at a rink.
3) DIY Hockey Puck Rebounder
If you like to play hockey or skate, or if your team hosts Skate with the Team events, you want to have a chance to practice. While your man cave could be a place to hang out with buddies, it can also be a retreat. If you have synthetic ice installed, but you want to practice passing, make a homemade puck rebounder like the one in this video. The rebounder lets you practice passing the puck back and forth even when you’re alone.
4) Wall Mounts
Your collection of sticks is probably getting out of hand. You don’t want to just lean them in a corner, since they’re prized possessions, but you don’t have a good way to display them, either. Show off your hockey sticks and collectible pucks with these wall mounts. The mounts fit regulation pucks and full-size sticks, so you can show off your collection. The mounts have a thin ridge in front, so the pucks and sticks can’t fall out, but the ridge is thin enough that you can see any writing on the memorabilia.
5) Stanley Cup Popcorn Machine
When did your team last make the playoffs? Have they brought home the Stanley cup? Whether your team has won the cup or not, it’ll make a great decoration for your cave. If they’ve won before, you’ll need to show off their victory to your friends. This Stanley Cup popcorn maker is a key piece of hockey symbolism for NHL fans, and it makes snacks for you to enjoy during practice or a game.
6) DIY Hockey Rink
If your man cave is outside or even in a shed, you may have space for a real hockey rink in the backyard. You can make a large rink like the one in the video, or a small rink that fits the size of your yard. While skating with the players is a dream, having your own hockey rink makes your man cave the go-to location to hang out and play hockey. This video is great because it gives you the step-by-step information you need to turn an intimidating idea into reality.
7) Vintage Art
If you’ve been around long enough, you likely miss watching Gordie Howe throw his gloves down and fight. The old days were the good days. If you’re too young to remember the greats, you may have started watching after the AHL started trying to crack down on fighting. Nonetheless, you appreciate hockey for the game, the fights, the old, and the new. This vintage print will take you back to the days of wooden sticks, before the turn of the millennium.
8) DIY Display Pucks
You caught the puck at the last AHL game, and nobody was sitting near you, so you didn’t have to give it to a kid. Now, you have a puck signed by your favorite players, but you aren’t sure what to do with it. It doesn’t seem right to just sit it on a table somewhere. As your puck collection grows, you’ll need a way to display it. With this do-it-yourself project, you can display all your hockey pucks. Since you’re making it yourself, you can design it to fit your space and puck collection.
9) Patent Prints
Patent prints are always a neat thing to have around. They show a bit of the history and science behind things we love, like hockey skates, goals, sticks, and even the Zamboni. Display these prints on your hockey man cave wall as a conversation piece. You can show off your knowledge of hockey design, and impress friends by explaining the difference between a hockey skate and a figure skate. These are also a great way to learn new things about your favorite sport.
10) DIY Framed Jerseys
While you may not hang around after every game, you’ve likely stuck around after a game or two to buy a jersey off the player’s back. Whether you’ve got the MVP jersey, or your favorite player’s, you’ll want to find a way to display it. While professional framing will look nice, it can also be expensive. Check out this video to learn how to frame your jersey yourself. You can frame all your jerseys like this, or just frame your favorite as a centerpiece for your jersey wall.
11) Reserved Sign
Your man cave is a unique space that only a true hockey fan can fully appreciate. This sign sends the perfect message to non-players who don’t understand the game. It says the area is reserved for hockey players only. All others will be checked. This is great for encouraging people who come into your man cave to give hockey a try, or for making it feel like an exclusive hockey club. It also makes a neat entrance sign that declares your man cave theme to all who enter.
12) Shooting Pad
It’s okay if installing a hockey rink is a bit much for you. After all, they take up quite a bit of yard space. If you can’t have a full rink, and you don’t want your floor filled with synthetic ice, this shooting pad is a good alternative. It takes up a small space, but still lets you practice hockey in your man cave. We recommend you have a net to shoot into so you don’t damage the walls.
13) Rink Map
While you probably go to many games at your home rink, you’ll want to travel to a few games in other places to cheer on your team. Nothing encourages a team more than when their fans cheer the loudest in somebody else’s territory. This map shows the locations of pro hockey arenas all over the United States. You can use this to plan a trip, choose a side destination during a vacation, or just as a decoration and conversation piece.
14) Air Hockey Table
Hockey is fun, but not every hockey fan has to play hockey. If you don’t play the sport itself, you can at least have hockey-themed games. One way to bring hockey into your man cave without pucks flying everywhere is to get an air hockey table. This air hockey table is great for a man cave because anybody can play, and people other than hockey players love the game. It also takes up much less space than a hockey goal.
15) DIY Recycle Hockey Stick
If you play hockey, you’re aware of one basic reality; at some point, your hockey stick will break. You probably have old, worn out sticks around, or know somewhere to get them. Rather than throw away old sticks, recycle them into hockey décor. This article gives you several ways to recycle hockey sticks into lamps, picture frames, and more. If you’re willing to do a little work yourself, you can get some unique items that you won’t be able to find in stores.
16) Realistic Canvas Print
Watching hockey from home to keep track of stats can be fun, but nothing beats the feel of the cool air coming off the ice, and the spray of ice hitting the glass when a player stops suddenly. If you’ve played backyard hockey, you know how different it feels when you’re out there on the ice, or watching in-person. This realistic image brings the ice into your man cave. You can get in any size that fits your space, including a 4-foot wide canvas.
17) DIY Table Levelers
Your man cave will have jerseys, hockey sticks, pucks, and many other items that show you’re a hockey fan with a capital “f.” Don’t stop there. Include bits and pieces of your favorite sport in everything in your man cave. This video shows you how to use hockey pucks as table levelers. This brings hockey into even the smallest elements of your furniture and décor, and of course it means you have a level table. Make sure to get cheap pucks for this, since you’ll have to drill into them.
18) Fantasy Hockey
If you aren’t content to just watch hockey, but you aren’t able to go out and play hockey in person, you still have options. Instead of getting out on the ice in person, play some fantasy hockey. This guide will help you get started, pick your team, and learn everything you need to to become a serious fantasy hockey player. You can set up a desk or table just for your stats and plans, to ensure that you have the perfect team for your game.
19) Indoor Hockey Puck
There are many ways to play hockey indoors, from a small shooting pad to synthetic ice to a full-sized rink. If you don’t want to invest in all that for your hockey man cave, this puck will help you get in some hockey practice or just play around for a bit. The puck is designed to glide on a smooth floor, so you don’t need ice of any sort. This makes it perfect for your man cave, though we do recommend a net to shoot in. Otherwise, your walls may start to look beat-up.
20) DIY Hockey Rink Decor
Hockey rinks are surrounded by boards. You’ve probably leaned against one to get a better angle on the game, or slammed into one when you were first learning how to skate. Wainscoting can create a visual effect similar to hockey rink boards for a low cost. It’s also an attractive way to divide a wall. Since you’ll want to hang memorabilia at eye level, the wainscoting keeps the bottom half of your wall from looking bare. Check out this tutorial to learn how to install it yourself.
21) Team Colors
What are your team’s colors? You probably didn’t even need to think before answering. Unfortunately, any guests in your man cave will have to think before answering. Most of them won’t even know. Use your team’s colors to really support them with your man cave design. If your team has two colors, paint the walls and trim. If you have three, try installing wainscoting on some walls or making an accent wall. This gives you a third space to paint your third team color.
What else could we put in a hockey man cave? We would love to hear about your own hockey man cave thoughts. Please let us know in the comments below!